Like most of the characters in Parks And Recreation, Jerry Gergich provides the audience with plenty of laughs. However, instead of delivering witty one-liners like his Parks Department co-workers, his humor comes from being the butt of the joke.
Some of it is instigated by his friends, who do some horrible yet funny things to him. But the likes of Tom and April aren't always to blame for his misfortune; Sometimes it's his own fault. From general clumsiness to serious errors in judgment, Jerry makes countless mistakes throughout the seven seasons of the show. And here are some of his absolute worst ones.
Allowing The Park Director To Call Him Jerry
During the series, Jerry goes by Terry, Larry, and even his real name, Garry. The constant changing of his first name serves as one of the show's best running gags. And it all started with a classic Jerry blunder.
On his first day of working at the Parks department, his boss mistakenly called him Jerry, and as Gergich didn't correct him, the name stuck. There are times where he gets sick of being called by a different name, but it's his fault for not correcting his boss the first time.
Forgetting To Vote For Leslie
In season four, Leslie runs for City Council, and Jerry, along with the rest of the Parks Department, helps her out. However, he forgets to do the most important thing and actually vote for her.
On election day, he gets confused about when the polls close and misses his opportunity. The final decision ends up being very close as Leslie wins via a re-count. If she'd have lost, Jerry would've been partially to blame.
Using The Wrong Flyers For Leslie's Campaign
Jerry's strong work ethic is a big reason why he's one of the Parks Department's best employees. He shows his dedication when he spends hours putting Leslie's campaign flyers into envelopes ready for them to be shipped out. Although, after working through the night, he realizes that he's been stuffing the wrong ones the entire time.
The guy wastes his whole night and has to start all over again. At least he manages to stay upbeat about the whole thing; anyone else would've lost their minds.
Catalog Picture
During "Summer Catalog," the Parks Department attempt to put together a Parks catalog. One of Jerry's contributions is some pictures of people playing softball. His work looks great, the shots are in focus, framed well, and it seems like he's done a good job.
Yet, April then points out that the person in one of the photographs is a known pedophile - something Jerry didn't realize. To make matters worse, Jerry actually had dinner with the creep.
Ruining Tom's Menus
One of Tom's many business ideas in the series is a restaurant he names Tom's Bistro. Before it's opening, Jerry is in charge of getting the menus printed, and predictably, it goes badly.
Instead of them being filled with pictures of delicious food, they're covered in images of Jerry's dog's rectum. This occurs because Gergich gives the printer the wrong file. It seems like the people putting the menus together should've discovered something was up, but Jerry still deserves most of the blame.
Dropping His Belongings Down A Drain
One of Jerry's most undesirable traits is his clumsiness. The man regularly drops food and drinks throughout the series, usually all over himself.
However, the most egregious example of his ineptitude occurs in season seven. Firstly he drops his wedding ring down a drain in the courtyard of City Hall. Then while trying to get it back, he also loses his phone, belt, and much more. He only gets them back because of Donna's help.
Disastrous Presentation
Presentations can be tricky, but few have ever gone as bad as Jerry's from season two. These are the things that go wrong: he trips over a chair, fails to plug his computer in, brings up the wrong image, mispronounces the word 'trout,' rips his pants, and loudly es gas. So, it's more of a collection of mistakes than one big one.
He is lucky that it is one of the few times his co-workers are trying to be nice to him, overwise they'd have verbally destroyed him.
Destroying His Prototype For Clean, Renewable Energy
After the fall of Rent-A-Swag, Tom looks to fund someone else's business idea, so he allows people to pitch their proposals.
Jerry presents a way to generate clean, renewable energy. Unfortunately, he sneezes while presenting his invention, causing Tom and April to reject his idea. Then the poor guy sneezes again, dropping and destroying his incredible prototype. He may have been onto something truly amazing that would've impressed scientists all over the world, yet in classic Jerry fashion, he ruined it.
Putting Lighter Fluid In The Eternal Flame
Ron can often be a prickly individual, but he also showcases his thoughtful side on many occasions. And he's one of the only people to refrain from bullying Jerry. Yet, that doesn't stop him from nearly getting his face burnt off, courtesy of Gergich.
It all goes down during Li'l Sebastion's memorial when Jerry uses lighter fluid for the ceremonial fire instead of propane. As a result, when Ron lights it, the flames shoot up a lot higher and quicker than expected, right into his mustached face.
Falling Into A Creek
Jerry typically seems to have no shame, as he takes his co-worker's mockery in his stride. Yet, even he tries to hide the embarrassing story of how he injured his shoulder in season two.
His initial explanation is that he got mugged. Although in reality, he falls into a creek while reaching for his burrito. It's one of those moments where it's hard not to feel bad for the poor man. However, it's equally difficult to avoid laughing at him.